The world exclusive pictures of Nigella Lawson being grabbed by the throat by her husband Charles Saatchi have landed the freelance photographer responsible the biggest scoop in his life, earning him tens of thousands of pounds.

Sources said the photographer, bylined Jean Paul – a pseudonym – by the Sunday People, got about £14,000 from the Trinity Mirror title for the shots which show the millionaire collector repeatedly holding the TV chef by the throat as they sat on a terrace outside Scott's Restaurant in Mayfair, central London earlier this month.

It is understood the photographer regarded the Sunday People as the obvious place to take the pictures following the closure of the News of the World and did not approach other papers.

The Sunday People had a 24-hour period of exclusivity on the pictures, after which they became available to other outlets, netting the photographer further undisclosed fees.

They have been sold to newspapers in countries including the US, Australia, South Africa, Canada and Poland. More than 600 websites have also the photos, both legally and illegally.

It is understood one US broadcaster offered more than £1m if the photographer could secure the first exclusive pictures of Lawson since the incident.

The photos, which shocked readers and prompted worldwide interest in the relationship between Saatchi and Lawson, prompted a debate about domestic violence.

Saatchi was cautioned for assault on Monday after a police investigation sparked by the pictures, saying afterwards that accepting it was "better than the alternative, of this hanging over all of us for months". Lawson left the family home after the incident with her children to avoid media attention, according to Saatchi.

The celebrity chef's husband told the London Evening Standard earlier this week the photos were of a "playful tiff" and that he had "held her neck repeatedly to emphasise my point" in "an intense debate about the children".

"The pictures are horrific but give a far more drastic and violent impression of what took place. Nigella's tears were because we both hate arguing, not because she had been hurt.

"We had made up by the time we were home. The paparazzi were congregated outside our house after the story broke yesterday morning, so I told Nigella to take the kids off till the dust settled," he said.

Lawson has made no public comment on the incident that happened outside a seafood restaurant in upmarket Mayfair on 9 June.

The pictures also gave a massive boost to the Mirror Online website, where Sunday People content is published online and which saw traffic rocket to 24m page views on Sunday.

A spokesman for Trinity Mirror said: "The exclusive pictures of Nigella Lawson and Charles Saatchi are already the most popular pieces of content ever published on Mirror Online, significantly outperforming even the traffic generated by our exclusive look inside North Korea.

"This success is particularly gratifying as it proves our ongoing integration of Trinity Mirror's on- and offline media is working, allowing us to break exclusives and create distinctive content that enriches both our digital and print brands without compromising the readerships of either.

"Our aim is to make Mirror Online a destination for live coverage of breaking news and sporting events for our readers, and the go-to site for UK celebrity news, pictures and exclusives."

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